Tag: Nikki Smith

Today I’m sharing my list of thrillers I’m most anticipating this year. There’s so many good ones that it was hard to narrow them down!

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller and Reese’s Book Club Pick The Last Thing He Told Me comes a riveting mystery wrapped in an epic love story . . .
_________

One beautiful Californian evening, a wealthy businessman falls to his death from his secluded cliff-top house onto the rocks below.

A tragic accident? Or murder?

Nora and her half-brother Sam suspect it may be the latter, and team up to uncover the truth of what really happened that night.

But their relationship has never been easy, and it is about to be tested to the limit as they start to question how well either of them really knew their elusive father.

Unravelling his mysterious past takes them back to a world they knew nothing about, to a tangled love affair and a web of relationships that other people would far rather stay buried…

Filled with passion, intrigue, lies, and dark, dark family secrets, The Night We Lost Him is a page turning mystery you won’t ever want to put down.

Published January 2nd by Century
Pre-order here*

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A Serial Killer’s Guide To Marriage by Asia Mackay

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A couple that kills together stays together.
DISCOVER THE ADDICTIVE THRILLER READERS CAN’T STOP TALKING ABOUT

Hazel and Fox are an ordinary married couple with a baby. Except for one small thing: they’re ex-serial killers.

They had it all. An enviable London lifestyle, five-star travels, and plenty of bad men to kill. Not many power couples know how to get away with murder.

Then Hazel fell pregnant and they gave it all up for life in the suburbs; dinner parties instead of body disposal.

But recently Hazel has started to feel that itch again. When she kills someone behind Fox’s back and brings the police to their door, she must do anything she can to protect her family.

This could save their marriage – unless it kills them first.

Published January 14th by Wildfire
Pre-order here*

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The Last Days of Kira Mullan by Nicci French

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
She thinks it was murder. 
But if she can’t trust herself, can anyone else?  

Nancy North and her boyfriend Felix are making the move across London to Harlesden. A new flat, a new area, a new start. Because while Nancy is fine now, she wasn’t fine before. But settling into the new flat and meeting the new neighbours isn’t helped by Felix’s hovering concern. She is all right. She is sticking to her breathing exercises and doctor-prescribed help.  

So, when their new neighbour Kira Mullan is found dead by suicide, Felix is understandably worried about Nancy’s frame of mind. But Nancy saw Kira the day before she died and she didn’t strike her as someone who was suicidal – she was upset and angry, yes, but was she upset and angry enough to take her own life?  

Nancy is the only one convinced that there’s more to Kira’s death than has been discovered. But all the police and the neighbours see is a vulnerable woman who isn’t sure of what she saw, and might even be imagining things . . .  

Is Nancy imagining things, or are there more questions that should be asked about the last days of Kira Mullan?  

Published January 16th by Simon & Schuster UK
Pre-order here*

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Death in the Arctic by Tom Hindle

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A frozen wilderness.

A killer in the skies.

When aspiring travel writer Chloé Campbell is invited aboard a luxury airship flying to the North Pole, she thinks she’s bagged the opportunity of a lifetime.

But she hasn’t had long to admire the dazzling icy views before a fellow passenger is found dead in their cabin.

Trapped at the top of the world, the group agrees a tragic accident has occurred. But as the hours tick by, fear turns to doubt.

It seems everyone’s a suspect.

And it isn’t long before the passengers begin to turn on each other . . .

Published January 16th by Century
Pre-order here*

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The Cleaner by Mary Watson

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
It’s not dust she’s looking for.
It’s dirt.

Esmie is supposed to be invisible. Just a cleaner with a foreign accent that no one quite has time to place. Her uniform of leggings and a duster allows her to explore the homes of the wealthy, unseen; an outsider creeping around the edges of privilege.

But as she sweeps through the exclusive Woodlands gated neighbourhood, cleaning is the last thing on her mind. Treading silently over the polished wooden floorboards and cloud-soft carpets, Esmie gathers up the mess of broken marriages, quiet deceptions and careless failures. She tucks away their fragments, keeping them safe. For now.

Because one of the residents took from her the person she loves most. She’s not here to clean; she’s here for revenge – and she’ll get it using the weapons her employers unwittingly handed her along with the keys to their homes: their own secrets…

This beautifully sinister, propulsive page-turner that explores themes of identity and privilege is perfect for fans of Harriet Tyce and Lisa Jewell.

Published January 16th by Bantam
Pre-order here*

****

Witchcraft For Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A twisted Southern Gothic horror from Grady Hendrix, the New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group.

‘I did an evil thing to be put in here, and I’m going to have to do an evil thing to get out.’

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. There, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to keep her baby and escape to a commune. Zinnia, a budding musician who plans to marry her baby’s father. And Holly, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

Every moment of their waking day is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid . . . and it’s usually paid in blood.

Published January 16th by Tor
Pre-order here*

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The Psychopath Next Door by Mark Edwards

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
In this mesmerising thriller from the bestselling author of Keep Her Secret, a family’s fresh start is just the beginning of their nightmare…

Ethan Dove’s family has moved to a new home in a safe community, and it’s exactly the fresh start they need. Not only is his marriage to Emma hanging by a thread, but his son, Dylan, and twelve-year-old daughter, Rose, deserve to have a happy childhood.

After Rose is bullied by the boys across the road, Ethan is relieved when the woman who lives next door steps in. Fiona Smith has come into their lives at just the right moment, and when she offers to look after Rose during the school holidays, Ethan and Emma can’t believe their luck.

Which is exactly what Fiona wants. Because, far from being the perfect neighbour, Fiona is the last person you should trust with your child. With a vicious plot for revenge, Fiona is happy to train Rose to be her accomplice, especially when she begins to suspect that Rose might not be as innocent as she appears…

The Psychopath Next Door is a gripping and twisted psychological suspense thriller set in the terrifying world of Mark Edwards’s bestselling The Magpies universe.

Published January 28th by Thomas & Mercer
Pre-order here*

****

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife as she’s driving home to share some exciting news. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by a cliff edge, the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there . . . but his wife has disappeared.

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible: a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

Wives think their husbands will change, but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change, but they do.

Published January 30th by Pan Macmillan
Pre-order here*

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Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
It’s Camilla’s first day back at work, her daughter’s first day at nursery.
But husband Luke is nowhere to be seen. The only trace of him is an unfinished note. Camilla tries to put it out of her mind; there must be a rational explanation.
At work, there are welcomes back, and too many distractions.

Then it starts.

Breaking news: there’s a hostage situation developing in London.
The police arrive: Luke is caught up in it.

But he isn’t a hostage. Luke – doting father, successful writer, enthusiastic runner and eternal optimist – is the gunman.

What Camilla does next is crucial. Because only she knows what the note he left behind says, and the clues it might hold . . .

Published January 30th by Michael Joseph
Pre-order here*

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I Bet You’d Look Good in a Coffin by Katy Brent

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Your favourite anti-heroine, Kitty Collins, is back! Expect more wit, sass, and, of course, murder…

***********

My name is Kitty Collins and I’m a serial killer.

I don’t want to kill. It’s just so hard to resist. Some men really, really deserve it.

Men like Blaze Bundy, an anonymous influencer spreading misogyny online. He’s making it very hard for me to control my murderous urges.

Meanwhile I’m in the South of France to watch my mother marry a man I’ve never met. I should be drinking cocktails and focusing on my tan, not plotting a murder.

But a woman’s work is never done. Surely one more teensy little kill wouldn’t hurt, would it?

Published January 30th by HQ
Pre-order here*

****

Give Him To Me by Dorothy Koomson

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Robyn ‘Avril’ Managa was twelve when she witnessed her controlling and abusive father murder her mother. Put into care while her well-connected was father given a new identity in Witness Protection, Robyn has lived with the trauma of that day ever since.

Now in her twenties, Robyn has decided she wants a family reunion – so is killing people connected to her father’s case, leaving on their bodies the note: GIVE HIM TO ME.

Dr Kez Lanyon is called onto the case. But can Kez get into Robyn’s mind before she kills again? Or is she about to become Avril’s latest victim?

Profiler and therapist Kez Lanyon returns in a gripping new stand-alone novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Dorothy Koomson.

Published February 13th by Headline
Pre-order here*

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The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
SOME MURDERS CAN’T BE SOLVED IN JUST ONE LIFETIME.

Ali Dawson and her cold case team investigate crimes so old, they’re frozen – or so their inside joke goes. Most people don’t know that they travel back in time to complete their research.

The latest assignment sees Ali venture back farther than they have dared before: to 1850s London in order to clear the name of Cain Templeton, the eccentric great-grandfather of MP Isaac Templeton. Rumour has it that Cain was part of a sinister group called The Collectors; to become a member, you had to kill a woman…

Fearing for her safety in the middle of a freezing Victorian winter, Ali finds herself stuck in time, unable to make her way back to her life, her beloved colleagues, and her son, Finn, who suddenly finds himself in legal trouble in the present day.

Could the two cases be connected?

Set your clocks to February 2025 and get ready for an original, transportive and characterful new crime novel from no. 1 bestselling author Elly Griffiths. Perfect for those missing the Dr Ruth Galloway series and for any crime and historical fiction fans.

Published February 13th by Quercus
Pre-order here*

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Dirty Money by Charlotte Philby

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
RAMONA CHANG

An investigative journalist turned private detective, Ramona’s final scoop left her with a target on her back. Now in hiding, she is living in a run-down flat in east London. But when her latest case looking into an upmarket escort agency takes a dark turn, she needs information only accessible to those in power . . .

DETECTIVE SERGEANT MADELEINE FARROW

A high-flying operative at a government agency, it’s the day of her fiftieth birthday when Madeleine finds out that she has been given the lead on an investigation into corruption on a global scale. But when she finds her case mysteriously blocked from the inside, she needs someone on the outside, capable of moving undetected . . .

As Ramona’s and Madeleine’s cases collide, can the unlikely allies find justice for multiple victims within the capital’s hotbed of lies and deception?

A gripping thrill-ride set against the gloss and grit of contemporary London, DIRTY MONEY introduces an unforgettable new detective duo created by critically acclaimed writer Charlotte Philby.

Published February 13th by Baskerville
Pre-order here*

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Other People’s Houses (DC Morgan, 3) by Clare Mackintosh

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Even on the most desirable street, there’s a dark side . . .

The Hill is the kind of place everyone wants to live: luxurious, exclusive and safe. But now someone is breaking and entering these Cheshire homes one by one, and DS Leo Brady suspects the burglar is looking for something, or someone, in particular.

Over the border in Wales, DC Ffion Morgan recovers the body of an estate agent from the lake. There’s no love lost between Ffion and estate agents, but who hated this one enough to want her dead – and why?

As their cases collide, Ffion and Leo discover people will pay a high price to keep their secrets behind closed doors . . .

Published February 27th by Sphere
Pre-order here*

****

That’ll Teach Her by Maz Evans

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A headmistress is dead. The circumstances are suspicious.
And as every parent knows, being on the school group chat can be murder…

As educators go, Claudia Stitchwell makes Miss Hannigan look like Miss Honey.
But when the reviled headteacher drops dead in the school hall, a group of sceptical parents suspect the nut allergy explanation doesn’t add up – they believe someone wanted to teach Miss Stitchwell a lesson.

Only four people could have killed Stitchwell: Hattie, the adored school cook; Kiera, the hard-working teaching assistant; Clive, the loathed school bursar and Ben, the popular deputy head. All of them are liars… but only one is the murderer.

Piecing together evidence from the daily drama and drudgery of the parents’ group chat, local press, police reports, school newsletters, and good, old-fashioned gossip, the determined detective parents are doing their homework to crack the case.

Will you spot the clues? Can you deduce whodunnit? And for the love of all things holy, does anyone have this week’s spellings?

Published February 27th by Headline
Pre-order here*

****

Small Fires by Ronnie Turner

BOOK DESCRIPTON:
Suspected of murdering their parents, sisters Lily and Della flee to a strange, unnamed island in Scotland, and their arrival puts in motion a horrifying series of events… Literary suspense meets folk horror in 2025’s most original, mesmerising modern gothic masterpiece…
  
________________
 Evil runs through this cursed island
And these wicked sisters are about to make it burn…
 
When sisters Lily and Della Pedley are persecuted for the shocking murder of their parents, they flee from their home in Cornwall to a remote and unnamed island in Scotland – an island known for its strange happenings, but far away from the whispers and prying eyes of strangers.
 
Lily is terrified of what her sister will might do next, and she soon realises that they have arrived at a place where nothing is as it seems. A bitterness runs through the land like poison, and the stories told by the islanders seem to be far more than folklore.
 
Della settles in too easily, the island folk drawn to her strangeness, but Lily is plagued by odd and unsettling dreams, and as an annual festival draws nigh, she discovers that she has far more to fear than she could ever have imagined. Or does she…?
 
Chilling, atmospheric and utterly hypnotic, Small Fires is a contemporary gothic novel that examines possession, generational trauma, female rage, and the perilous bonds of family – an unsettling reminder that the stories we tell can be deadly…

Midsommar meets Midnight Mass in a folk horror, modern gothic masterpiece.

Published February 27th by Orenda Books
Pre-order here

****

The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
From the exceptionally original mind of CWA Gold Dagger Award winner and Booker-longlisted author Belinda Bauer, a sweeping tale of obsession, greed, ambition, and a crime that has remained unsolved for a hundred years.

It was the greatest mystery never told . . .

1926. On the towering cliffs of Yorkshire, men are lowered on ropes to steal the eggs of the sea birds who nest there. The most beautiful are sold for large sums. But when small and hungry Celie Sheppard finds an ‘impossible’ red egg, it will forever alter the course of her life – and the lives of others.

100 years later in a remote cottage in Wales, Patrick Fort discovers his friend, Nick, and his mother tied up and robbed. The only thing missing: a carved case containing an incredible scarlet egg. Doggedly attempting to retrieve it, Patrick and Nick discover the cruel world of egg trafficking, and soon find themselves on the trail of a priceless collection of eggs lost to history. Until now.

A taut, wonderfully imagined novel brimming with skullduggery at every turn, The Impossible Thing is a blazing testament to Belinda Bauer’s status as one of our greatest living crime writers.

Published February 27th by Bantam
Pre-order here*

****

You Killed Me First by John Marrs

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Three women. Three smouldering secrets. Who will make it out alive?

It’s 5 November, and a woman awakens to a nightmare. Bound and gagged, she lies trapped in the heart of a towering bonfire. As the smoke thickens, panic sets in – she’s moments away from being engulfed in flames. How did it come to this?

Rewind eleven months: Margot, a faded TV star, and her long-suffering friend Anna watch as glamorous Liv and her flawless family move into their street. The three women soon fabricate the perfect pretence of friendship, but each harbours her own deadly secret – and newcomer Liv senses something is terribly wrong beneath the polished exteriors.

As cracks widen in the veneer of perfection and lies escalate out of control, tension ignites. Bonfire Night is approaching and someone is set to burn…But who will it be?

Published March 4th by Thomas & Mercer
Pre-order here*

****

A Trial in Three Acts by Guy Morpuss

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A trial is rather like a play.
We wear our costumes. We perform to the audience.
And on a good day no-one gets murdered.

Six nights a week the cast of the smash-hit play Daughter of the Revolution performs to a sold-out audience. A thrilling story of forbidden marriage and a secret love child, the critics say it’ll run for years. That is until one night the third act ends not in applause but in death, when leading lady Alexandra Dyce is beheaded live on stage.

Every cast member has a motive, but it is the dead woman’s co-star – and ex-husband – Hollywood legend Leo Lusk who is charged with the crime. When defence barrister Charles Konig is brought in last minute, he knows this ought to be the case of a lifetime. But Charles would rather be on his holiday trekking up K2, and he isn’t interested in celebrities, especially ones that seem to be mysteriously trying to derail their own defence. But as he and his co-counsel New York lawyer Yara Ortiz sift through the evidence, it becomes clear that clues may lie in the play itself. And that Charles’s only chance of victory is to identify the real murderer…

A delightfully clever legal mystery with as many layers as an onion. Perfect for readers of Janice Hallett, Tom Hindle, Rob Rinder and Richard Osman.

Published March 6th by Viper
Pre-order here*

****

Scenes From A Tragedy by Carole Hailey

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
If you hurt me, I’ll hurt you. Not right away of course, because where’s the fun in that?

When an empty passenger plane mysteriously crashes in the Lake District, journalist Carly Atherton is determined to get to the truth of what happened – the love of her life was one of the two pilots on board.

But when she contacts the family of the other pilot, the conflicting memories of his wife and his sister draw her into a story far darker than she could possibly have imagined.

As Carly delves into the dynamics of a seemingly ordinary family, she realises that the bonds that shape us can also tear us apart – and that sometimes there are monsters living among us, hiding in plain sight…

Published March 6th by Corvus
Pre-order here*

****

Son (Kari Voss Mysteries Volume 1) by Johana Gustawasson and Thomas Enger

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Psychologist and expert on body language and memory, Kari Voss investigates the murder of two teenaged girls in the small Norwegian town of Son, as suspicion is cast on multiple suspects. A mesmerisingly dark, twisty start to a nerve-shattering new series by two of the world’s finest crime writers…
 
_________________
 
Everyone here is lying…
 
Expert on body language and memory, and consultant to the Oslo Police, psychologist Kari Voss sleepwalks through her days, and, by night, continues the devastating search for her young son, who disappeared on his birthday, seven years earlier.
 
Still grieving for her dead husband, and trying to pull together the pieces of her life, she is thrust into a shocking local investigation, when two teenage girls are violently murdered in a family summer home in the nearby village of Son.
 
When a friend of the victims is charged with the barbaric killings, it seems the case is closed, but Kari is not convinced. Using her skills and working on instinct, she conducts her own enquiries, leading her to multiple suspects, including people who knew the dead girls well…
 
With the help of Chief Constable Ramona Norum, she discovers that no one – including the victims – are what they seem. And that there is a dark secret at the heart of Son village that could have implications not just for her own son’s disappearance, but Kari’s own life, too…

Published March 13th by Orenda Books
Pre-order here

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Murder at Gull’s Nest (Nora Breen Investigates, Book 1) by Jess Kidd

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The first in a sparkling new 1950s seaside mystery series, featuring sharp-eyed former nun Nora Breen.

In a house like Gulls Nest, curiosity might prove fatal . . .

After thirty years in a convent, Nora Breen has thrown off her habit and set her sights on the seaside town of Gore-on-Sea. Her fellow sister Frieda has gone missing and it’s up to Nora to find her.

Nora’s only clue is that Frieda was last seen at Gulls Nest boarding House. So she travels down, takes a room and settles in to watch and listen. Over dubious – and sometimes downright inedible – dinners, Nora gathers evidence about the other lodgers and what they knew about Frieda.

At long last, Nora has found the perfect outlet for her powers of observation and, well, nosiness. When one of the lodgers is found dead, Nora decides she must find the murderer. Not least because she suspects the victim knew Frieda. Could solving this mystery help her to understand what has happened to her friend?

Published March 13th by Faber & Faber
Pre-order here*

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Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L. M. Chilton

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Don’t miss the new laugh-out-loud thriller from L.M. Chilton, Everyone in the Group Chat Dies – a murder mystery that fuses the flatmate comedy of Friends with the serial-killer thrills of I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Kirby Cornell needs a break from everything:
– Her crumbling flat in the sleepy town of Crowhurst (famous for its award-winning sausage rolls and a second-rate serial killer from the 90s).
– Her dead-end job.
– Her sleazy landlord.
– Her slobbish housemates.
– And, most of all, the terrible thing they all did.

Luckily, that hasn’t caught up with her just yet. Until a new message on their old group chat pops up:

Everyone in the group chat will die.

It’s the first text her ex-flatmate and social-media sleuth Esme has sent for ages, but that’s not the really weird thing.

The really weird thing is, Esme died twelve months ago.

Publihsed March 13th by Bloomsbury Publishing
Pre-order here*

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The Summer Guests (The Martini Club 2) by Tess Gerritsen

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
INCLUDES A BONUS SHORT STORY BY LEE CHILD AND TESS GERRITSEN, STARRING JACK REACHER AND THE ENIGMATIC MAGGIE BIRD. . .

The Summer Guests is the exhilarating and gripping new thriller from Sunday Times bestselling author of The Spy Coast.

‘I love this new series . . . The Summer Guests is a cracker of a mystery! I couldn’t put it down.’
SHARI LAPENA

THE MARTINI CLUB ISN’T OPEN TO EVERYONE . . .

Maggie Bird’s ‘book group’ is an unusual one – a group of retired spies living an anonymous life in the seaside town of Purity. And this summer they plan little more than ‘reading’ (whilst sipping martinis), and some gentle birdwatching.

But trouble is just around the corner as the summer guests arrive.

For acting Police Chief Jo Thibodeau, summer brings its own problems – packed streets, bar brawls, petty theft. And now, a missing teenager down by the lake.

When their good friend becomes a prime suspect in the girl’s disappearance, Maggie and her Martini Club must put down their binoculars and roll up their sleeves. Leaving Jo to deal with not only a powerful family desperate for answers, but a meddlesome group of retirees.

Can Jo and the Martini Club find a way to work together, as they uncover one of the deadliest scandals their small town has ever seen?

Published March 27th by Bantam
Pre-order here*

****

How To Seal Your Own Fate (The Castle Knoll Files, 2) by Kristen Perrin

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Annie thought the murders were over.
She was wrong.

It is autumn in Castle Knoll and Annie Adams is busy settling into her new home. She doesn’t find Gravesdown Hall particularly cosy, especially since she found two dead bodies there over the summer. What’s more, ever since she arrived in the village, Annie has had the creeping sense she’s being watched.

Lonely, and desperate for some company, Annie starts talking to a stranger she meets in the grounds of the estate. The striking old woman introduces herself as Peony Lane, the fortune-teller who predicted Great Aunt Frances’ murder all those years ago. And now she has a fortune to tell Annie.

Desperate not to fall into the same trap as Frances, Annie flees Peony Lane, refusing to hear any of her grim predictions. But she can’t outrun Peony for long, as hours later she finds her, dead on the floor of Gravesdown Hall, a ruby-hilted dagger plunged into her back.

But who killed the mysterious fortune teller and why? And can Frances’ library of evidence help Annie solve the case?

Published March 27th by Quercus
Pre-order here*

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A Fortune Most Fatal (Miss Austen Investigates Book 2) by Jessica Bull

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
‘Exceptional – the Austen whodunnit I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for! I loved it’ SOPHIE IRWIN

“Who are you, Miss Austen, but a young lady of little experience and no consequence?”

Welcome to Kent, 1797. Following many years apart, Jane Austen is set to spend the summer with her estranged brother, Neddy. As heir to wealthy widow Mrs Knight’s fortune, it is imperative that Neddy stays in his benefactor’s good graces. The financial security of Jane’s entire family depend on him.

But upon arrival at Godmersham Park, Jane quickly realises Neddy is in dire need of her help. For a mysterious young woman currently resides with Mrs Knight – a stranger who threatens to swindle the inheritance for herself.

Jane must uncover who this imposter is, to protect the fortunes – and fate – of her family. But when her investigation takes a dark and dangerous turn, can she solve the mystery – and save herself?

Published March 27th by Michael Joseph
Pre-order here*

****

The Death of Us by Abigail Dean

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
It’s the story everyone wants to hear.

That spring night in South London, when Isabel and Edward’s lives were torn apart.

The night Isabel learned that the worst things wait, just outside the door.

The night Edward learned that he was powerless to stop them.

The night they never talk about.

When their attacker is caught, it’s finally time to tell the story of that night.

Not to the world. Or to the man who did it. But to each other.

This is a story of murder. This is a story of survival. But most of all, this is a story of love.

Published March 27th by Harper Fiction
Pre-order here*

****

The Vipers by Katy Hays

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
From the bestselling author of The Cloisters comes this electrifying thriller about an affluent family whose annual retreat to Italy is shattered when a decades-old murder resurfaces . . . think The Talented Mr Ripley meets Succession meets The White Lotus . . .

On the glittering island of Capri, anything can be a mirage. But one thing is true: there’s nothing deadlier than a family with everything to lose . . .

The world was shocked by playwright Sarah Lingate’s death thirty years ago at an opulent,
white-washed villa on the island of Capri. Absolved of the crime, the Lingate family maintains that what happened that night was a tragic accident. And every July they return to Capri to prove it’s true.

This time, Helen Lingate – sole heir to the family fortune – has a plan. Tightly controlled by her father, she enlists the help of the family assistant, Lorna Moreno, to free herself from her family’s stranglehold on her life. And yet, behind closed doors, the legendary Lingate family unity is at breaking point. Upon arrival at the villa in Capri, an anonymous gift awaits them: the necklace Sarah was wearing the night she died.

In the aftermath, the paranoid, insular Lingates begin to unravel. As the investigation into her mother’s death is reopened, Helen begins to lose trust in everyone around her: her controlling father Richard, drug-addled aunt Naomi, aloof uncle Marcus, and even Lorna, whose past she realizes is frustratingly opaque. And as the family fractures, the long-hidden truth about that night and the secrets they’ve kept from one another boil to the surface – and they might not leave the island alive.

Published March 27th by Bantam
Pre-order here*

****

The Cure by Eve Smith

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The chance discovery of an injection that wards off age-related disease is hijacked by ruthless men who hunger for immortality, with catastrophic consequences. Two women race against time to stop them, before it’s too late … a chilling, prescient, high-stakes speculative thriller by the bestselling author of One.
 –––––
 
Living forever can be lethal…
 
Ruth is a law-abiding elder, working out her national service, but she has secrets.
 
Her tireless research into the disease that killed her young daughter had an unexpected outcome: the discovery of a vaccine against old age. Just one jab a year wards off age-related diseases, guaranteeing long, healthy life.
 
But Ruth’s cure was hijacked by her colleague, Erik Grundleger, and his elderly billionaire backer, who hunger for immortality, and SuperJuve – a premium upgrade – was created, driving human lifespan to a new high. The wealthy elite who take it are the Supers, and the population begins to rocket.
 
Then, a perilous side-effect of SuperJuve emerges, with catastrophic consequences, and as the planet is threatened, the population rebels, and laws are passed to restore order: life ends at 120. Supers are tracked down by Omnicide investigators like Mara, and executed.
 
Mara has her own reasons for hunting Supers, and she forms an unlikely alliance with Ruth to find Grundleger.
 
But Grundleger has been working on something even more radical and is one step ahead, with a deadly surprise in store for both of them…

Published April 10th by Orenda Books
Pre-order here

****

The Maid’s Secret (Molly the Maid, 3) by Nita Prose

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A hidden treasure. A hotel heist. Only THE MAID can solve the mystery…

*THE SPARKLING NEW MYSTERY FROM THE NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE MAID*

–––––

Molly the maid is no stranger to secrets…

She sees everything behind closed doors at the Regency Grand hotel: wiping away the dust and grime of guests passing through.

But one secret lies much closer to home.

An old trinket – a faux Fabergé egg – is revealed to be a precious antique during an appraisal at the hotel, making Molly a rags-to-riches sensation. But no sooner has the egg shown its value than it’s stolen: vanishing without a trace.

Determined to crack the case of the missing Fabergé, Molly begins dusting for clues – uncovering a mystery that stretches deep into the past.

For in the pages of a long-forgotten diary, written by her late gran, lie the secrets that could unlock all others – and only Molly holds the key…

Published April 10th by Harper Fiction
Pre-order here*

****

The Liar by Louise Jensen

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The nail-biting new thriller from Louise Jensen that’s impossible to put down…

The Abbotts’ new lodger Luke hasn’t told them much about himself, but they can’t expect to know everything about a stranger who’s just moved in.

But Luke keeps asking about their family photos and looking through their things. Why does he want to know everything about them? And why does daughter Jen think someone is watching her?

Then, suddenly, Mum Mel texts the family to say she needs a break. But Mel has never gone away alone before. And now it’s been days, and no one has heard from her.

The Abbotts’ house is full of secrets.

They say people never tell the whole truth.

They’re right.

Published April 10th by HQ
Pre-order here*

****

Our Last Wild Days by Anna Bailey

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
‘There is nothing like it. The way the world gets real quiet when a gator’s nearby…And then the water, suddenly boiling as that black head surfaces and the ancient reptile erupts into the air hissing like a devil…The way the crack of the rifle seems to come from deep inside Cutter. The way she feels it in her throat; she knows she’s a good killer – and yet. She is stalling…’

The Labasques aren’t like other families. Living in a shack out in the swamps, they scrape a living hunting down alligators and other animals just to get by. To the good people of Jacknife, Louisiana, they are trouble-makers, outcasts, the kind of people you wouldn’t want living on your doorstep. So when Cutter Labasque is found face down in the muddy swamp, no one seems to care, not even her two rough-cut brothers. The only person who questions the official verdict of suicide is Cutter’s childhood friend, Loyal May, who has just returned home to care for her ageing mother. Loyal left town at the age of 18, having betrayed Cutter. Now there may be no way to find forgiveness, but there may be restitution…

Published April 24th by Doubleday
Pre-order here*

****

Human Remains (Kat & Lock, 3) by Jo Callaghan

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
From the author of In the Blink of an Eye, the Sunday Times bestseller, winner of the CWA ILP John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger and Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. 

DCS Kat Frank and AIDE Lock are back in a cutting-edge new thriller.

The truth will always come out, but at what cost? 

Fresh from successfully closing their first live case, the Future Policing Unit are called in to investigate when a headless, handless body is found on a Warwickshire farm. But as they work to identify the victim and their killer, the discovery of a second body begins to spark fears that The Aston Strangler is back. And as the stakes rise for the team, so do the tensions brewing within it.

When DCS Kat Frank is accused of putting the wrong man behind bars all those years ago, AIDE Lock – the world’s first AI Detective – pursues the truth about what happened with relentless logic. But Kat is determined to keep the past buried, and when she becomes the target of a shadowy figure looking for revenge, Lock is torn between his evidence-based algorithms and the judgement of his partner, with explosive results.  

When everything hangs in the balance, it will all come down to just how much an AI machine can learn, and what happens when they do . . .

Publsihed April 24th by Simon & Schuster UK
Pre-order here*

****

The Sunshine Man by Emma Stonex

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
‘The week I shot a man clean through the head began like any other . . .’

In January 1989, Birdie wakes to the news she’s been waiting eighteen years to hear. Jimmy Maguire, the man who killed her sister, has been freed from jail.

Birdie leaves for London with a gun and a plan: to find him and make him pay. But this is a story with two sides. For Birdie knew Jimmy a long time ago, in a life she’d sooner forget. Theirs is a past of broken bonds and friendships burned, and a terrible secret kept hidden in the shadows. Did Jimmy kill Birdie’s sister, or is he the only one she can really trust?

As Jimmy travels south to face his past he can sense that something is hunting him. Birdie lingers there in the darkness, watching, as the past and present hurtle toward each other . . .

Full of edge-of-your-seat suspense, The Sunshine Man by Emma Stonex is a breathtaking mystery about love and revenge, the many shades of justice and what it means to be free.

Published May 1st by Picador
Pre-order here*

****

A Beautiful Way To Die by Eleni Kyriacou

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Don’t miss the new novel from Eleni Kyriacou, author of BBC Between the Covers pick The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou.

PLAY THEIR GAME
Hollywood, 1953. Young actress Ginny Watkins is turning heads. Even the legendary – and married – actor Max Whitman can’t resist the allure of the hottest new starlet. He promises Ginny the world, in return for the right favour.

DO WHAT THEY SAY
London, 1954. Stella Hope, once the most famous actress in Hollywood, has been ousted to Ealing Studios after her divorce from the powerful Max. Just as she accepts her fate, she receives a letter, blackmailing her for a mistake she made many years ago.

OR THEY’LL BURY YOU
Two women on either side of stardom find themselves in the orbit of the same beguiling man. And one night, in the shadows of a glamorous Oscars afterparty, their lives are changed forever.

A Beautiful Way to Die delves into the decadence and depravity of the early film industry from Hollywood to London. Perfect for fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and films like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Babylon.

Published May 8th by Head of Zeus
Pre-order here*

******

Speak To Me of Home by Jeanine Cummins

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
‘Why hadn’t she said to her daughter I love you beyond reason and none of this matters at all and every day that you breathe is a gift?’

Rafaela Acuña y Daubón remembers everything that matters: her beautiful childhood in San Juan, her marriage to Peter, uprooting their children, Ruth and Benny, to the American Midwest, and losing all sense of her place in the world. So she tells no one when her memory begins to slip.

Her daughter, in New York with a family of her own, wishes she could forget her muddy feelings about where she comes from – the same feelings which motivated her 22-year-old daughter Daisy to reconnect with their past.

Daisy, who has momentarily forgotten everything, hears the word critical in a hospital room in San Juan and remembers, all at once, the car that hurtled towards her, the terrible storm, and something else. What was it?

Now Ruth and Rafaela must return to the city where it all began, to gather by Daisy’s bedside and confront the twists of fate that have caused a growing rift in their family and led them to this moment.

Published May 13th by Tinder Press
Pre-order here*

****

Let the Bad Times Roll by Alice Slater

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
New Orleans: Then.

Alone in New Orleans, Selina is struggling to fit in. When a charismatic stranger invites her for a drink, she’s grateful for the company – but as their friendship grows, she can’t help but sense a darkness within her new friend. Who is Daniel, and what does he want from her?

London: Now.

Daniel is missing. No one has seen or heard from him in weeks. Beside herself with worry, his sister Caroline hosts an intimate gathering in her beautiful North London home so those closest to Daniel can come together and compare notes.

But all isn’t quite as it seems: Caroline has invited a stranger to the table, an accomplished psychic who claims to have met Daniel four thousand miles away in New Orleans.

As evening turns to night, the dark truth of what really happened in New Orleans begins to emerge…

Published May 15th by Hodder & Stoughton
Pre-order here*

****

They Had It Coming by Nikki Smith

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Escape to Bali in this gripping new sunlounger thriller, for fans of Lucy Clarke and Ruth Ware.

‘THE NEW QUEEN OF THE GLAMOROUS DESTINATION THRILLER’ ELLERY LLOYD

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer . . .

Nate and Layla, Jude and Sophie. They’ve been a four for as long as they can remember: fancy dinners, dancing ’til dawn . . . Even living and working together.

So when Nate and Layla suddenly quit their lives and move to Bali, with its white sands and exotic beach clubs, Jude and Sophie are their first visitors. Anything to escape their life in London.

But as the two couples reunite, cracks begin to show.

Which is hardly surprising; they’ve been lying to each other for years.

And now, it’s time for revenge.

Published May 22nd by Viking
Pre-order here*

****

The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
They can’t even agree on what to read, so how are they going to solve a murder?

Having recently moved from London to a small Cornish seaside village, Nova Davies started a book club at the local community center, but so far it’s a disaster. The five members disagree on everything, and to make matters worse, a significant sum of money is stolen during one of the meetings, putting the much-loved community center at risk.

Suspicion for the theft falls on book club member Michael, especially when he disappears and a dead body turns up at his house. But the book club has their own theories. Agatha Christie superfan Phyllis is determined to prove Michael’s been framed, while romance reader Arthur believes there’s a mystery woman involved, and teenage sci-fi fan Ash thinks dark forces are at play. 

While trying to locate Michael, solve the murder and recover the stolen money, each of them has their own secrets to protect. But despite the danger closing in, they won’t rest until they’ve cracked the case and gotten everyone safe at home with a book, where they belong.

Published May 29th by Renegade Books
Pre-order here*

****

A Sharp Scratch by Heather Darwent

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Things We Do To Our Friends, comes a timely, gripping novel about the dark underbelly of wellness culture

‘DARWENT HAS A GREAT CAREER AS A THRILLER WRITER AHEAD OF HER’ SUNDAY TIMES

We can fix you.

It’s a promise that Betsy has heard far too many times. From the child psychologist, from her husband, and from the wellness trends that scream at her from her screen.

So far, it’s been a lie.

But this time, she believes it. Because Betsy has been offered a place at Carn – a luxurious, unorthodox retreat, where healing really is possible. At Carn, she discovers that her imperfections make her unique, not weak. She isn’t broken, just special.

All Betsy has to do is follow the rules . . .

Published May 29th by Viking
Pre-order here*

****

It’s Always the Husband by C. L. Taylor

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
One dead wife is tragic. Two looks like murder…
________

The school gates have never been so dangerous…

When newly divorced Jude arrives in the small town of Lowbridge, she is soon drawn to the enigmatic Will, father to her young daughter’s best friend.

But Will’s devastating past holds questions that nobody knows the answer to – and after two tragedies tore his life apart in just a few short years, gossip and rumours abound about what really happened to the women he loved.

Because whilst one dead wife is tragic, two starts to look like murder…

Published June 5th by Avon Books
Pre-order here*

****

The School Gates by A. A. Chaudhuri

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
First comes gossip … then comes revenge

When single mum Lola Martinez’s son, Luca, starts school, she feels that she’ll never fit in with the yummy mummies in the playground. Confident, married to wealthy men, with ample free time, they are everything she isn’t.

However, Lola is invited into the inner circle, surrounded by seemingly friendly people, even if Lola’s silence about her child’s father puzzles them. Despite herself, Lola quickly becomes involved in playground politics, making as many enemies as friends.

But then Lola is brutally murdered, her death rocking the close-knit community. As the police investigate the case, they discover that Lola was hiding many secrets – as are the mums in her new social circle. But who had the most reason to kill her? And who else might unwittingly hold the answers to what happened that night?

An addictive psychological thriller with an end twist that will make you gasp, for fans of Lisa Jewell, T.M. Logan and Frieda McFadden. If you loved Big Little Lies, you’ll adore this.

Published June 5th by Hera Books
Pre-order here*

****

With a Vengeance by Riley Sager

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
One train. No stops. A deadly game of survival and revenge.

In 1942, six people destroyed Anna Matheson’s family. Twelve years later, she’s ready for retribution.

Under false pretenses, Anna has lured those responsible for her family’s downfall onto a luxury train from Philadelphia to Chicago, an overnight journey of fourteen hours. Her goal? Confront the people who’ve wronged her, get them to confess their crimes, and deliver them into the hands of authorities waiting at the end of the line. Justice will at last be served.

But Anna’s plan is quickly derailed by the murder of one of the passengers. As the train barrels through the night, it becomes clear that someone else on board is enacting their own form of revenge-and that they won’t stop until everyone else is dead.

With time running out before the train reaches its destination, Anna is forced to hunt the killer in their midst while protecting the people she hates the most. In order to destroy her enemies, she must first save them-even though it means putting her own life at risk.

Published June 12th by Hodder & Stoughton
Pre-order here*

****

Kill Them With Kindness by Will Carver

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The ‘most original writer in Britain’ (Daily Express) returns with a mind-blowing, high-concept new thriller.

‘Laying bare our 21st-century weaknesses and dilemmas, Carver has created a highly original state-of-the-nation novel’ Literary Review
________

The threat of nuclear war is no longer scary. This is much worse. It’s invisible. It works quickly.

And it’s coming.

The scourge has already infected and killed half the population in China and it is heading towards the UK. There is no time to escape. The British government sees no way out other than to distribute ‘Dignity Pills’ to its citizens: One last night with family or loved ones before going to sleep forever … together. Because the contagion will kill you and the horrifying news footage shows that it will be better to go quietly.

Dr Haruto Ikeda, a Japanese scientist working at a Chinese research facility, wants to save the world. He has discovered a way to mutate a virus. Instead of making people sick, instead of causing death, it’s going to make them… nice.

Instead of attacking the lungs, it will work into the brain and increase the host’s ability to feel and show compassion. It will make people kind.

But governments don’t want a population in agreement. They want conflict and outrage and fear. Reasonable people are harder to control.

Ikeda’s quest is thoughtful and noble, and it just might work. Maybe humanity can be saved. Maybe it doesn’t have to be the end.

But kindness may also be the biggest killer of all…

Published June 19th by Orenda Books
Pre-order here

****

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Welcome to North Falls―a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think.

Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites.

For Officer Emmy Clifton, it’s personal. She turned away when her best friend’s daughter needed help―and now she must bring her home.

But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did.

Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?

Published June 19th by Harper Fiction
Pre-order here*

****

What Happens in the Dark by Kia Abdullah

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Don’t miss the brand-new gripping thriller and courtroom drama full of twists and turns that will keep you up at night!

* * * *

Lily and Safa were best friends growing up. Now, Lily is the nation’s favourite breakfast TV presenter and Safa, once a renowned journalist, is reeling from a recent fall from grace.

When news breaks about suspicious bruises on Lily’s body, Safa attempts to rekindle their old friendship. But Lily claims the bruises are nothing to worry about.

And then one night the police are called to Lily’s home. Lily is strangely calm – and a body lies dead at her feet.

Lily pleads not guilty, and then says nothing more. Driven by her desire to give a voice to all victims, Safa begins her own investigation into what happened that night.

But Safa is not prepared for what her quest for justice will uncover …

Published June 19th by HQ
Pre-order here*

****

Into the Fire (Helen Grace Thriller, 13) by M. J. Arlidge

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Nowhere to hide. No-one to turn to. Nothing to lose.

Helen Grace is sure she made the right decision to quit the force. Until the day she looks out from her window to see a desperate young woman being beaten by two thugs.

Still a force to be reckoned with, Helen races into the night and strikes the men down. For a moment, it feels like she doesn’t need her badge to do good, but as she leads the girl to safety, she’s struck from behind, regaining consciousness just in time to see the victim being dragged into a white van.

Helen’s determined to find the woman and save her, but even begging her former colleagues to help gets her nowhere. It’s clear it’ll be up to her alone to make the rescue.

Taking matters into her own hands, Helen uncovers more women connected to the first who need her help. But fighting crime as a maverick is a dangerous game. One that could cost Helen her life, and the life of those she holds most dear…

Published July 3rd by Orion
Pre-order here*

****

Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
He’s the perfect man.

He says he loves you.

You think he might even be made for you.

Before long he’s moved into your house – and into your heart.

And then he leaves for days at a time. You don’t know where he’s gone or who he’s with.

And you realise – if you looked back – you’d say to yourself:

DON’T LET HIM IN.

Published July 3rd by Century
Pre-order here*

****

The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A stingingly brilliant new psychological thriller from the 5 million copy-bestselling author of Here to Stay and The Magpies

“I loved this brilliant, edgy, character driven thriller with a passion. So clever and fresh with a wild and incredibly satisfying twist at the end.” Lisa Jewell

******

Summer 1999. Will joins five other idealistic graduates working for an eccentric psychology professor. They’re going to launch a website to change online dating forever.

No-one expects it to end in tragedy.

Twenty-five years later, Will gets an invitation: a dinner party. A chance to see the old gang again.

But as soon as he arrives, something doesn’t seem right.

There’s an unexpected guest. The hosts are clearly keeping a secret. And on the way in, Will is sure he heard crying.

Everyone has something to hide about what really happened that summer.

But only one of them is willing to kill to find the truth…

Published July 17th by Michael Joseph
Pre-order here*

****

Hidden Requests by Louise Candlish

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A gripping new thriller from the author of Our House, packed full of stunning twists!

One woman’s secret is another’s scandal…

It’s rare for a room in beautiful, iconic Columbia Mansions to be up for grabs and retiree Gwen is thrilled when its new occupant Pixie turns out to be the most delightful neighbour she could have wished for. Before long the two women have formed an unlikely age-gap friendship and Gwen is making herself useful to Pixie in all kinds of ways.

But when a crime comes to light Gwen’s protective instincts go into overdrive, igniting an appetite for revenge that none of the residents are prepared for.

The last thing they need in Columbia Mansions is a scandal.

The last thing they want is a murder.

Published July 17th by HQ
Pre-order here*

****

High Season by Katie Bishop

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
When Nina was just five years old, her family’s whole world was torn apart when her seventeen-year-old sister Tamara was found dead in the pool of their Cote d’Azur property. Nina’s evidence led to the conviction of their housekeeper’s daughter and occasional babysitter seventeen-year-old Josie for Tamara’s murder. But when new evidence emerges to suggest that Josie was innocent, Nina is forced to question the accuracy of her memories, her role in one of the most notorious cases of the past twenty years, and what actually happened to her sister on that hot summer day.

Published August 14th by Bantam
Pre-order here*

****

Too Old For This by Samantha Downing

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
It’s never too late to teach an old woman new murders…a razor-sharp, edge-of-your-seat new thriller from Sunday Times bestseller Samantha Downing, available to pre-order now!

***********

You’d never guess Lottie Jones had skeletons in her closet.

She’s lived in town for decades now. She’s getting older. She lives for the simple pleasures of weekly bingo games at church, and gossiping with her friends about their children’s love lives.

But when investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past, and specifically about her connection to numerous unsolved murders, well, Lottie just can’t have that.

But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realises this crime might just be the death of her…

Published August 28th by Michael Joseph
Pre-order here*

****

The Watcher by Helen Fields

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A face in the crowd. A killer in the shadows…

________

On the dark streets of Edinburgh, a killer is waiting.

When a body is found, it is only the beginning. Soon there will be seven more.

In the city’s hospital, renowned surgeon Beth Waterfall is grieving.

Her beloved only daughter fell prey to a vicious stalker a year previously – and now he’s coming for her too.

Edinburgh’s police are desperate.

After one body comes another, and then another. The brutal deaths are all seemingly unconnected, and yet DS Lively and forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolwine know they are dealing with a serial killer – they just need to prove it.

But time is running out, and The Watcher is already set on making Beth Waterfall his next victim…

The million-copy international bestseller returns with a gripping serial killer thriller that will have you hooked from the first page to the very last.

Published August 28th by Avon
Pre-order here*

****

The Killer Question by Janice Hallett

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Get ready for the sudden-death round…

Mal and Sue Eastwood were once the kindly landlords of a local village pub, The Case is Altered. They ran a weekly pub quiz and were well liked by their customers and colleagues alike, always happy to lend a helping hand. But now The Case stands empty, its windows boarded up. What could have happened to Mal and Sue?

Did The Case close because it was failing? Was it because of the body pulled from the nearby river? Or perhaps it had something to do with the quiz? It had always been a quiet affair, five teams of locals battling it out for a small prize pot. Until one day a mysterious new team of outsiders arrived, and started winning every round…

Only by sifting through the quiz sheets, the WhatsApps, and Mal and Sue’s hidden past may the truth be revealed. Someone’s not playing fair, so get the drinks in and see if you can get a perfect score.

Published September 4th by Viper
Pre-order here*

****

The Night Stairs by Erin Kelly

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
‘I love an Erin Kelly book! The worlds she creates are so rich and alive’ JANE FALLON

St Cordula’s Convent, 1487. Sister Matilda is pregnant and has been banished from the convent: the only home she has ever known. Outside, the snow is swirling. She knows she will not survive a night on the Yorkshire moors. In despair, she climbs to the top of the Abbey and writes the words GOD FORGIVE ME in chalk on the wall, then throws herself down the stairs.

In 2024, life within St Cordula’s Boarding School is changing. The oldest convent school in England is about to merge with a local boys’ school and a new deputy head, Fiona Fox, has arrived. The only constant seems to be the building itself, the iconic school uniform – nun-like navy blue hooded capes – and the words GOD FORGIVE ME, re-painted every year first by nuns and then by schoolgirls who believe that the spirit of Sister Matilda will keep the school safe as long as her words are never allowed to fade from the wall.

Only once in the school’s history have the words disappeared, and when they did, students were afflicted by violent attacks of vertigo. Only three people know the full truth of what happened and the scandal that was hushed up.

Fiona has one week left to keep the news of the merger under wraps and then the deal is done – until another outbreak of vertigo drags the past into the light. Old superstitions rear their ugly heads, and the girls take it upon themselves to investigate the previous outbreak, putting the school – and themselves – in terrible danger …

Published September 4th by Hodder & Stoughton
Pre-order here*

****

59 Minutes by Holly Seddon

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
If you knew you had fifty-nine minutes until everything and everyone you love would be lost forever, what would you do with that time?

It’s an ordinary evening. People are coming home from work, cooking dinner for their children, cuddling on sofas with their lovers. And then the message arrives, shattering everyone’s worlds:

Missiles are set to destroy England in fifty-nine minutes. Everyone should seek immediate shelter.

59 minutes follows the journey of three women trying to make it home to and protect their families. The journeys should be simple, but with a lost schoolchild seeking help, a teenage daughter suddenly going missing, and dangerous criminals on the prowl, there is peril at every corner.

59 Minutes is a gripping, thought-provoking and gut-wrenching thriller perfect for fans of WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME, THE CHAIN and Lisa Jewell.

Published September 25th by Orion
Pre-order here*

********

Are any of these in your TBR? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxx